The invention disclosed herein relates to interior linings for automobiles. More particularly, the invention relates to such linings in which two or more webs of similar or different materials are used to cover contiguous surface areas of a unitary foundation panel and are joined by a seam of attractive appearance.
Linings to cover otherwise unattractive surfaces of panels are, of course, well known. They are in common usage in the building trade in general, and in the automotive industry, in particular. In this latter respect, linings have been used not only to render the interior of passenger cabins pleasant in appearance, but they have also become indispensable as a tool for insulating the interior of such cabins from exterior noise and climatic conditions.
In the early days of automotive engineering, such linings were commonly made of textile fabrics applied to support structures by means of so called risers to which they were applied sometimes by adhesive but usually by stitching or by means of more or less elaborate tacks, pins, and the like.
As adhesives became more reliable and man-made plastic foils improved in terms of appearance, longevity and smell, they were adopted by the industry as lining materials because of their cost effectiveness. For constructing linings of different web materials, such as, for instance, plastic foils and textile fabrics, it has been common practice to provide a welded seam at the junction or interface of two such different materials, and the resultant seams provide a finish of acceptable appearance. The composite lining may be made by applying an adhesive coating to the appropriate surface area of a foundation panel. A pre-cut textile fabric web is then superposed on the adhesive coating. Thereafter, those surface areas of the foundation panel which are not covered by the fabric are laminated with a plastic foil in a well-known manner, for instance, by vacuum pressure. The fabric web and the plastic foil are then bonded together at their edges by high frequency welding. By sufficiently plasticizing or softening the plastic foil, an intimate bond with the fabric web may be formed by a welding electrode. When the electrode is moved along the seam, a blade mounted on the electrode may either remove excess foil protruding into the fabric-covered area, or it may provide a tear-line in the foil to permit manual removal of any excess. Thus, a seam of neat appearance may be formed between the two different web materials.
Such composite linings have found acceptance in the industry, but they suffer from certain deficiencies and disadvantages. For example, they can only be made from materials which are compatible with each other. For practical purposes, leather cannot be used at all. In those instances, however, in which incompatible materials, such as textile fabrics on the one hand and leather on the other, have been used for the construction of linings, they usually are mounted on separate support panels for subsequent assembly in adjacent relationship, usually by clips, tacks, or the like. This is a time-consuming process, for it requires careful alignment of the separate support panels in order to yield joints of acceptable appearance. Owing to the relatively many elements making up such linings and because of the great skill required for their mounting and assembly, they are expensive.
Welded seams of the kind referred to may for other reasons not always be acceptable. Indeed, they may be useful only where the webs joined by them lie in substantially the same plane. They are not easily adaptable, however, for bonding upholstered, i.e., raised portions to flat portions, for instance. In any event, welded seams require elaborate precautions and monitoring with respect to welding pressure, current strength and high frequency fields in order to prevent burns and other defects in the seam. Such complications and the high cost attendant to avoiding defects resulting thereform, may be the reason why composite linings have not found as wide an acceptance as might otherwise be the case.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a novel interior lining for automotles, comprising different web materials.
A further object of the invention resides in the provision of novel means for constructing a lining of different materials in a economical and attractive manner.
It is another object of the invention to provide an interior lining comprising different web materials mounted on contiguous surface areas of a unitary foundation panel.
Yet another object of the invention resides in a lining made up of different web materials, some of which may be applied to upholstered portions of a unitary foundation panel.
A further object of the invention is to provide an interior lining of different webs for automotive vehicles which do not require a welded seam.
A still further object of the invention resides in an interior lining for automotive vehicles made up of different web materials positioned in different planes of a unitary foundation panel.
Yet another object of the invention resides in a lining made up of different web materials, some of which may be provided with an integral layer of resiliently compressible foam material to impart an upholstered appearance to portions of such lining.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a composite lining made in part of leather and in part by another web material.